Display-rack.



. 1.. c0ATE..

DISPLAY RACK.

APPLICATIO N FILED DEC. 1, 19l3- Patented Nov. 20, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET lw.-1. COAT-E.

DlSPLAY RACK.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 1. 1913.

1 $46,883. Patented Nov.20, 191?.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT onnion.

WALTER J. COATE, OF MAYWOOD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T AMERICAN CAN COMPANY OF NEW YORK, N. Y A CORPQRATION OF NEW JERSEY.

DISPLAY-RACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 1, 1913. Serial No. 803,876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER J. COATE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Maywood, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Display-Racks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in display racks and'more particularly to improvements in display racks for holding a number of cracker cans.

An object of the invention is to provide a sheet metal display rack, relatively cheap in construction, of pleasing design, adapted to hold a plurality of boxes, having means whereby any particular can may be drawn out and held in such a position that the cover thereof may be lifted, and to provide a display rack employing a minimum amount of sheet metal.

The invention furthermore consists in the improvements in the parts and devices and in the novel combinations of the parts and devices herein shown, described or claimed.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a rack embodying my improvements and showing in dotted lines two crackercans in position. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the structure illustrated in Fig-1" Fig. 3 isa vertical sectional view, upon an enlarged scale, takensubstantially on the line 3'-3 of Fig. l and showing in dotted lines a cracker;can pulled out and in position to have its cover lifted. Figs. 4 and 5 are horizontal sectional views taken substantially on the lines 44= and 55, respectively, of Fig. 3, and Fig. 6 is a detail plan view of one of the slidable can supporting and holdingplates. a In the drawing, the rack is shown as composed of a frame A having a plurality of combined supporting and holding plates or members B slidably and tiltably mounted in the frame. The frame A comprises a pair of vertical end walls'10,10 made of sheet metal provided with inwardly turned flanges 11, see Fig. 4.v The end-walls 10 are mounted on and supported by a horizontal board 12 which in turn is held raised from the floor by a pluralityof blocks 13. 'The tops of the end walls 10 are connected by a horizontally extending top wallfl l formed of sheet metaland having upwardly extending back and front flanges arul 16, r espectively, the latter being rounded at the corners and wide enough to bedecorated with advertising matter, printing or lithographing, as will be understood. A pair of diagonally arranged bars 17 are placed on therear of the frame to brace the parts. Extending longitudinally of the frame and fixed with respect thereto and arranged in three sets or tiers, are a plurality of rods 18, 19 and 20, each set or tier havingtwo rods 18 on the same level, a rod 19;in;front thereof and disposed therebelow, and a rod 20, the latter being located above the rodsl S. Therods 18 form a supporting shelf for a plurality of slidably and tiltably mounted members B, each of the latter comprising asheet metal plate 21 having downwardly extended side flanges 22, the latter being doubled back upon themselves at their lower edges, as shown at 23, to thereby form a more substantial bearing on the rods 18 over which the members B are slidable back and forth. The said flanges 22 are provided with slots 24 through w'hich'therods are inserted, thereby providing a pin and slot connection between each of the mem bers Band the frame A andthus preventing 'accidentalremoval-of any of the members B. Thetop plate 21 of each member B has stamped up therefrom a plurality of sets of tangs 25, said sets being. arrangedto correspond with the four sides of a square crac'kercan26 and, aswill be understood, the tangs 25 are more or less resilient and. serve to clamp the can when inserted in place-therebetween. A plurality oftransversely' extending sheet metal division. plates '27 are employed which are mounted on the rods 18, 19 and 20, one between each pair of members B. At the bottom of the frame the slidablemembers B are omitted and in place thereof a horizontallyextending sheet metal plate 28 is employed on top] of the board'12 and an angle 29,is secured thereto toproperly position the cans as the same are slid back in place on the plate 28. Each of the rods. 18, 19 and 20 extends from end to end of the frame and the same are held in place by nuts 30 threaded to the ends thereof. Each member B, on itsIfront side,

Patented Nov. 20, 1917.

is provided with a depending fingerfpiece' 31 in the form of a flange integral withthe plate 21 and by which-the member Bean be more readily manipulated. f

A, will be enswear; isare' Placed on the members B and held in position thereon by the tangs 25. The members B are independently movable and slidable back and forth on the rods 18, 18 and as the same are drawn outwardly from the frame the weight thereof will cause them to tilt downwardly as indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3 and they will come to rest on the rods 19, the pin and slot connections (20 and 24), preventing the members B from falling out. lVith the cans in the tilted position, shown in dotted lines, it is apparent that the covers thereof may be lifted up and the desired amounts of the cans con tents removed after which the covers may be closed and the cans put back in their normal position.

As shown in the drawing, the display rack is adapted to hold three cans in each tier but this number may be varied as desired. It will furthermore be obvious that the display 7 ack may be adapted for holding cracker cans or other cans of different Widths than the ones shown on the drawing without changing the overall dimensions of the frame. This is done by removing the rods 20, after which the members B can be removed and others of different width substituted therefor and held in place by replacing the rods 20. In this way I provide simple and convenient means adapting the rack for holding different size cans.

Although I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred embodiment of my improvement, yet it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of'the invention, and all such changes and modifications are contemplated as come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim: 11. A display rack comprising in' combination: vertical end frame members; a series of shelves arranged at different heights between and connected with said end members and comprising transverse removable rods; and a series of slidable and tilting members each adapted to support'a box or can and mounted on said rods and slidably and pivotally connected with the fixed part of the said rack and limited in sliding and tilting by certain of said rods.

2. A display rack comprising in combination: vertical end frame members; a series of shelves arranged at different heights between and connected with said end members and comprisingtransverse removable shelf rods; and a series of slidable members each adapted to support a box or can and mount ed on. said shelf rods and slidably connected the fixed part of the said rack, and a s'e'ries 'of division plates through which the saidred Passf r Pam i -s t said able members, the said division plates being adapted to be changed in position and number according to the number of slidable members.

3. A display rack comprising, in combination: vertical end frame members; a plurality of rods extending horizontally through said frame and forming a vertical series of shelves; slidable members mounted on said rods and adapted to carry cans; through pivot rods for said slidable members which limit their movement and on which they are adapted to tilt: and front supporting rods which arrest said members in tilted position when the latter have been drawn forward.

4. A display rack comprising in combination: a frame having transverse shelf rods; a can-holding slide resting on said shelf rods; a transverse guide rod engaging said slide and limiting its sliding movement; and a transverse front supporting rod limiting the downward tilting of said slide when drawn forward.

5. A display rack comprising, in combination: a fixed rack portion having shelves the front parts of which are at a distance to the rear of the front of the rack; slidable members mounted on said shelves and movable forward thereon; pivotalv connections be tween said members and the fixed rack portion; and transverse rods below the level of the shelves for holding said members in forward and tilted position. I

t3. A can-supporting and display rack comprising in combination: vertical end frame members; a series of transverse shelf rods one above another attached to the said frame members; a series of guide rods attached to the frame members forward of the shelf rods; a series of supporting rods forward of said guide rods; and can carrying slides movable on said shelf rods, engagingsaid guide rods, and forwardly and downwardly tiltable to rest on said supporting rods.

7. In a display rack of the character described, a slidable combined cracker-can supporting and holding member comprising a sheet of metal having down turned side flanges, the latter having their lower edges doubled back upon themselves, said sheet having a plurality of tangs struck up therefrom. said tangs being arranged to engage the sides of the can, substantially as specified.

8. A display rack comprising, in combination: a frame having a plurality of rods extending longitudinally thereof, some of said rods being arranged in the same horizontal plane and one of them being located in front of and below said horizontally arranged rods: and a can supporting and holdingmember slidable on'the rods arranged in the same horizontal plane and ada'pt'ed'to be supported in part in a tilted positionb'yfthe rod located below'said horizontal p1ane,'-suh-- stantially as specified. 7 3

9. A display rack comprising, in combinasupported in an inclined osit-ion on the rod tion: a frame having a plurality of longi- 19, substantially as speci 'ed. 10 tudinally extending rods l8, l9 and 20, the Signed this 26th day of November, 1913, rods 18 being located in the same horizontal in the presence of two Witnesses.

5 plane and the rods 19 and 20 below and WALTER J. COATE.

above said plane, respectively; and member lVitnesses: B slidably mounted on said rods 18 and slot- F. J. LANnns, ted to receive the rod 20 and adapted to be R. F. BISHOP.

Copies 01 this patent may he obtained (or five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 0! Patents, Washington, D. O. 

